The Mountain

by Richard Turner

  “No, I wish it were true, but we’re as clumsy as the next man,” replied Choling, helping Shaw up onto his feet. “I suggest that we rope ourselves together from now on. Three men to a line should work.”

  Shaw nodded his head. “I’ll tell Amrit.”

  For the rest of the day, they carefully moved along roped together in three groups of three. Fortunately, there were no further mishaps, but as the afternoon wore on, the cool wind began to pick up. By the time they stumbled into the area they had designated for their camp, it was impossible to see more than a couple of yards through the bitterly cold blowing snow whipped up by a thirty mile an hour wind coming straight at them. Frozen to the core, it took them far longer than anticipated to get their tents up. With the sun dipping behind the summit, Shaw told everyone to cook their meals inside their tents. He knew that lighting a stove inside their canvas tents was hardly the safest thing to do, but the only alternative was to eat from frozen cans of food.

  After bashing a couple extra pegs into the ice to keep their tent from flying off the side of the mountain, Shaw undid the flaps to his tent and then crawled inside. Although barely above freezing, the inside of the tent felt like stepping into a sauna after being outside in the icy wind. Shaw pulled off his scarves and balaclava from his head, undid his jacket and then took off his boots. His feet felt like blocks of ice. He rubbed his feet and slowly brought heat back into his frozen toes.

  “Now, Captain, would you mind telling me what was going through that mind of yours when you decided to throw yourself towards that bloody great big crevasse?” said Bruce.

  Shaw shrugged. “I’m fairly certain that I wasn’t thinking, or I wouldn’t have done it.”

  “Jesus, James, you can’t do things like that. What if you had failed and died out there today? We need you,” said Bruce.

  Shaw looked over at his friend. It was the first time that he had ever used his first name. “Duncan, I had to do what I did. I couldn’t let a man die, not when I had the chance to save his life. Besides, you know as much or more than I do about what is going on. You could have easily replaced me as the leader of this mission.”

  “Sir, I know what I need to do, I’m just not sure that I would have the strength to do what must be done when we finally catch up with Adler.”

  Shaw smiled. “How quickly you forget. You saved my life by shooting that doppelganger in Norway.”

  “You gave me no choice after you insulted my favorite football team, I had to do something.”

  “Excuse me,” said Amrit. “What doppelganger in Norway?”

  Bruce and Shaw looked over at Amrit, realizing that they had said too much.

  Shaw smiled and then said, “Did I say doppelganger? I meant to say Nazi stormtrooper.”

  Amrit pursed her lips and then said, “No, I’m fairly certain you didn’t say Nazi anything.”

  “Say, who wants something to eat?” said Bruce, steering the conversation away from the terrible few days he and Shaw had spent in Norway.

  Adler stood immobile, staring up at the glacial barrier of ice that rose like an impassable wall above their camp. In the swirling vortex of snow raging all around him, he couldn’t see the top of the icy wall. So far, the climb hadn’t been overly challenging for an accomplished mountaineer like Adler; however, the next day’s climb, he knew, would tax all of his skill and ability.

  “Patrón, please step out of the cold,” said Silvas, trying to be heard above the roaring wind.

  Adler looked over at Silvas; the man was covered in snow. A thick layer of frost covered the scarf over his mouth. Adler nodded curtly and followed Silvas into their tent. Ortega was already in her sleeping bag, fast asleep. An oxygen mask covered her mouth.

  “Today was hard on Señorita Ortega,” said Silvas.

  “Did she eat or drink anything before she went to bed?” asked Adler as he removed some of his heavy winter clothing.

  Silvas shook his head.

  “That won’t do,” said Adler. “She’ll just keep getting sicker if she doesn’t look after herself. She’s the only one of us here from the Reich Research Council. I have little or no understanding about uranium and its capabilities, and I doubt that you are an expert in radiological weapons so we need her more than she needs us. Without her, this expedition will be for naught. When she wakes up, feed her some warmed up beef tongue. If she refuses to eat, make her!”

  “Yes, sir,” said Silvas.

  A moment later, the tent flaps were undone, and Luis Zaro crawled inside; his curly black hair caked with snow. Held in his right hand was a large frying pan. Steam rose from the concoction he had just made over the stove.

  “What is it?” asked Silvas, eyeing the food.

  “It’s a mix of tongue, rice, peas and red onions,” replied Zaro. “Trust me, you’ll like it.”

  All three men sat down and started to eat hungrily from the communal pan.

  “How are the Afghans doing?” asked Adler in between bites.

  “Terrible,” replied Silvas, shaking his head. “Two are snow blind. Another three are suffering from frostbite and several more are doing badly in this altitude. I told Roja to make sure that they get oxygen tonight for at least a couple of hours.”

  Adler nodded his head. He only needed them for one more day. Once he was up onto the glacier and heading for the cavern, they could all die for all he cared.

  “What are your orders for tomorrow?” asked Silvas.

  “Only those Afghans who are fit enough to make the climb will come with us; the remainder will be left behind,” replied Adler. “They will have to wait until we return for their comrades to help them down off the mountain.”

  “I’ll make sure Roja knows,” replied Silvas. He knew Roja wouldn’t like the order, as he had become the de-facto leader of the Afghans, helping to guide them through the difficult climb after their sergeant ran away several days ago.

  “Sir, Roja said that he thought he saw people climbing, perhaps five thousand feet below us,” said Silvas.

  Adler grinned. “He probably did. Undoubtedly, they are the people we met at Kalankani’s palace. I suspect they are Allied agents sent to stop us. However, they will arrive a day too late. Nothing can stop us from reaching the cavern tomorrow.”

  Suddenly, Adler raised a hand, silencing his men. He turned his head and stared intently at the opening to their tent as if expecting to see something crawl inside.

  “What is it, Patrón?” asked Silvas, seeing the anxious look on Adler’s face.

  “I thought I heard something,” answered Adler.

  “What did you hear?”

  “I thought I heard an animal’s howl.”

  “An animal. Up here?”

  “Yes, it was kind of like a wolf’s call, but deeper,” said Adler.

  “I didn’t hear anything,” said Zaro as he licked his spoon clean.

  “I know that there are wolves in this part of the world, but I have never heard of them so high up. There’s nothing for them to feed on. They mainly keep to the hills and the valleys lower down,” explained Silvas.

  “I must be tired,” said Adler, shaking his head. “It was probably nothing more than the wind.”

  “Si, Patrón, it was only the wind,” said Silvas reassuringly. “Well, as much as I don’t want to, while Luis cleans up from supper, I must once again head outside and pass the word to Roja.”

  “I’m going to have some chocolate and a cup of tea before turning in for the night,” said Adler.

  Silvas nodded his head and started to get dressed again to step outside into the raging wind.

  Adler sat and nibbled on a piece of dark chocolate, trying to listen above the sound of his compatriots as they went about their business. He was sure he had heard something. What it was, he couldn’t be certain. The only thing he knew was that it sounded menacing and unnatural and that thinking about what could have made the sound gnawed at his guts.

  Long orange and red flames engulfed the beast, burning the
flesh from its long, slender body. Turning its wide misshapen head, it looked over at Shaw lying helpless on the ground. Ignoring the horrible pain surging through its dying body, the beast snarled and then let out an ear-piercing roar.

  Shaw saw that he was back in the German camp in Norway. He was unable to move; his leg was trapped under a fallen piece of debris. Desperately, he clawed at the ground, trying to reach his rifle lying just inches away from his fingers.

  With a look of pure hate in its ruby-red eyes, the beast slowly opened its mouth.

  Shaw could see row upon row of jagged teeth covered in blood and flesh. He tried again for his rifle; however, it was no good. The weapon was just too far out of reach.

  Suddenly, the creature leapt forward; pieces of its burning body fell to the ground, leaving a gruesome trail behind it. In a flash, it stood over Shaw.

  The stench of death filled the air.

  Desperate to escape, Shaw pulled at his trapped leg. Fear clouded his mind.

  Raising its head one last time, the beast lunged forward, its mouth wide open. Less than a second later, hundreds of razor-sharp teeth bit down onto Shaw’s skull.

  “No!” cried out Shaw as he struggled to escape from his sleeping bag.

  “Easy, easy,” said Amrit as she gently placed her hands on Shaw’s shoulders, her tone soothing and calm. “You were having another nightmare.”

  Looking into her tranquil eyes, Shaw began to relax. “Sorry about that, I seem to be prone to them up here.”

  “Well, this place isn’t exactly conducive to getting a good night’s sleep.”

  Shaw took a deep breath and saw that his hands were trembling.

  Amrit reached over and took his hands in hers. “James, what were you dreaming about?”

  “I thought I was going to die,” he replied. He felt the warmth from Amrit’s hands on his and smiled.

  Amrit turned her head away and let go of Shaw’s hands.

  He silently cursed himself. Shaw realized that he had been too forward with her back at MacDonald’s home. He had foolishly done it again and made Amrit feel uncomfortable.

  “Have a sip of water,” said Amrit, handing Shaw a cup.

  Shaw thanked her and took it. It was then that he noticed Bruce sleeping with an oxygen mask on. “What happened to Duncan?”

  “He woke up about an hour ago coughing and hacking so bad that I thought he was going to pass out,” explained Amrit. “So I nipped outside and grabbed an oxygen bottle.”

  “I must have been dead tired as I didn’t hear poor old Duncan coughing, or you coming and going from the tent.”

  “You were fast asleep until about a minute ago, when you began to thrash around in your sleeping bag.”

  Shaw finished the water and looked down at his watch. It was just after one in the morning. His body was tired, but his mind was racing. He knew he wouldn’t get any more rest. Shaw crawled out of his warm sleeping bag and pulled on his boots and his jacket, which he left undone. He didn’t want to get too warm. If he were to sweat at all inside the tent, he would freeze the instant he stepped out into the cold.

  “Hey, I just noticed,” said Shaw, “the wind seems to have died down.”

  “Yeah, it stopped blowing about thirty minutes ago. It’s a clear night sky out there right now, not a cloud in sight. It’s really breathtakingly beautiful.”

  Shaw smiled and said, “So, Amrit, what will you do when the war is over?”

  “I don’t think that it will be ending any time soon,” she replied. “Having said that, when it finally behind us, I think I would like to travel. I have never been to Europe or America. There is so much to see out there in the world.”

  “Well, if you ever make it to the States, be sure to look me up. It would be my pleasure to show you the sights.”

  “I’ll do that, Mister Shaw,” replied Amrit with a pleasant smile.

  Suddenly, the tent shook from side to side, startling Amrit and Shaw.

  “Captain, you need to get out here right now,” said Choling from outside of their tent.

  As quick as he could, Shaw made his way out into the freezing night air. Hurriedly doing up his heavy fur-lined jacket, Shaw pulled on his balaclava and then looked around for Choling. He found him standing at the edge of their camp looking up the mountain face. In the bright light of a nearly full moon, the snow glimmered silver.

  “What is it?” asked Shaw.

  “Wait a couple of seconds,” replied Choling.

  Shaw turned his head and looked up just as a couple of bright white flares burst open, illuminating the ice and rocks just below the glacier. Shaw instantly knew that they had to be from Adler’s camp.

  “What do you think is going on?” asked Choling.

  “I don’t know. Perhaps they’ve lost another man.”

  Suddenly, the sound of gunfire erupted from Adler’s camp. Although nearly a mile away, the shooting sounded crisp and close as it traveled through the cold night air.

  Two more flares arced up into the sky. More shots rang out. Within seconds, it sounded as if a major gun battle had erupted around Adler’s camp.

  “What the hell is going on up there?” asked Choling.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t like it. I want everyone up now,” said Shaw firmly.

  From out of nowhere, an unpleasant odor wafted through the camp.

  “What the hell is that smell?” said Choling.

  “It smells like death,” remarked Shaw.

  Choling nodded his head and turned to wake his men when a white shape suddenly rose up out of the snow right beside the Tibetan warrior on sentry duty. It stood at least eight or nine feet tall and was covered from head to toe with long scraggly white fur. Choling went for his pistol, but was too slow. The beast lunged straight at the unsuspecting sentry. It grabbed the man’s shoulders, picked him up off the ground and then sank its jagged teeth into his neck, ripping out the hapless man’s throat. A crimson spray of blood shot from the deep wound.

  Shaw heard the commotion, and turned to see what was going on just as the beast tossed the dying sentry’s body to the ground.

  With a loud snarl, it turned its head towards its next victims. Baring its bloody teeth, it ran straight at Shaw and Choling.

  Bringing his pistol up, Choling fired at the charging creature’s chest.

  Shaw’s rifle was back over by his tent. He knew he would never make it over to his rifle before the beast caught up with him. Pulling his 9mm automatic from his jacket pocket, Shaw dropped to one knee and started to fire as fast as he could into the monster, hoping to kill it.

  With a murderous look in its blazing red eyes, the beast brought a hand back and then smashed it hard into Choling’s chest, sending him flying onto a rocky outcropping.

  Shaw changed his aiming point and fired off a round at the creature’s head. He saw the beast’s head flinch to one side the instant the bullet struck. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Shaw realized that the beat wasn’t going to die easily.

  He had to get his rifle.

  Shaw jumped to his feet and sprinted back towards his tent. He didn’t get more than a couple of yards before he was smashed to the icy ground by the beast, the wind knocked from his lungs. Pain filled Shaw’s chest as he struggled to get up onto his feet. He felt a hand reach out and grab hold of his jacket. Before he could pull himself free, he was roughly thrown to one side. Shaw landed hard on the ice and slid along until he bumped into the side of one of their tents. He quickly sat up and saw that the beast was coming, its long arms dangling down by its side as it ran straight at him.

  Shaw needed a weapon. He turned his head and saw one of the Tibetans’ swords resting on top of his rucksack. With adrenaline surging through his battered body, he scrambled over on all fours and grabbed the sword. Shaw tried to stand on the slippery ice, and just got to his feet when the beast snarled and then charged straight at him. It would be on him in seconds. Shaw raised his sword, ready to strike. He knew he only had one chance to br
ing the monster down before it killed him as easily as it had the poor sentry. With his heart racing away, he gritted his teeth and waited until the creature got close enough that he couldn’t miss with his blade.

  Suddenly, a shot cut through the air, closely followed by another.

  Shaw saw the beast stagger on its feet for a second or two before falling face-first onto the snow with two holes blasted into the side of its head. He turned and saw Amrit standing there with his rifle in her hands.

  “Thank God you’re a good shot,” said Shaw, struggling to catch his breath.

  “My father taught my brother and me how to handle a rifle when we were still toddlers,” said Amrit as she moved over next to Shaw. With a look of horror on her face, she down at the dead creature, and said, “What the hell is this thing?”

  “A Rakshasa,” said Choling as he hobbled over.

  “Mister Choling, I don’t believe in ghosts and demons,” said Amrit as she studied the beast. It was covered in thick white fur and stood just under nine feet tall. It probably weighed in excess of four hundred pounds. The beast had long feet and unusually long legs and arms, which she guessed helped it climb on the ice and rock. She got down on one knee and turned the creature’s head towards her. Amrit saw that it had a long head like a bear’s; however, its jaw was wider and longer than any she had ever seen. She opened its mouth and saw dozens of sharp jagged teeth made for ripping and tearing pieces of flesh from its victims. She had no doubt that it or another like it was responsible for the attacks on the two Afghans they had found lower down the mountain.

  “If it’s not a Rakshasa, then what is it?” asked Choling.

  “I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s nothing more than an aberration of nature. Successive generations of inbreeding among a small population of bears could have given rise to this beast,” replied Amrit.

  By now, everyone but Bruce was out of their tents, hurriedly dressing.

  “I wouldn’t have expected an Indian to understand what we are up against,” said Choling dismissively.

  “Steady on,” said Shaw. “She has a point. It could be a mutated bear.”